NEW ORLEANS — Veteran NFL coach Sean Payton remains a fan of the nearly 50-year-old Superdome, where he paced the home sideline for 15 seasons while leading the New Orleans Saints.
“I challenge any venue to age like this one has,” Payton, who recently wrapped up his second season as head coach of the Denver Broncos, said while visiting the Big Easy this past week for festivities related to the big game: Super Bowl LIX on Sunday night, when the Kansas City Chiefs (17-2) and the Philadelphia Eagles (17-3) will face off for the Lombardi Trophy.
While the teams will tell the story of finale to the NFL’s 2024 season, the hulking, 70,000-seat, triple-decker stadium — an unmistakable figure in the New Orleans skyline with its champagne-colored metallic sheen and hourglass shape — will make its own history by hosting a Super Bowl for the record-extending eighth time.
This year will mark the 11th time overall that New Orleans has hosted the event, the most of any single city and tied with the Miami metro area for the most Super Bowls in any region. In addition to the Superdome, three Super Bowls in the city were held at Tulane Stadium in the early 1970s.
Payton surmised the Superdome has housed more special moments in sports history than perhaps any stadium in existence now, “and hopefully more this weekend.”